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LA VILLA DI Lucullo a PALAZZO MEDIOBANCA

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LA VILLA DI Lucullo a PALAZZO MEDIOBANCA BOLLETTINO DI ARCHEOLOGIA ON LINE DIREZIONE GENERALE ARCHEOLOGIA VI, 2015/ 2-3-4 PAOLA VIRGILI* LA VILLA DI LuCuLLO A PALAZZO MEDIOBANCA In 1999, during the construction of an underground garage under Mediobanca 's building, a part of the monumental garden of Lucullus' villa has been found. The Horti Lucullani decorated by monumental fountains and extended on the Pincio's slope, realizing a scenografic wing visible from all the Campo Marzio. The Horti were sold by Lucius, Lucullus' son, to Valerius Asiaticus and became imperial property and Messalina's dwelling. During Trajan's age the Horti 's areas were resold to privates and a domus was built in the garden, later transformed as a private thermal bath. INquADRAMENTO TOPOGRAfICO La via Salaria Vetus , il cui nome è legato al commercio del sale, era una delle strade più antiche e aveva inizio, come la via Nomentana, alla Porta Collina delle Mura Serviane. Colle - gava Roma con l’antico sito di Antemnae , cittadina fondata nell’VIII sec. a.C. La maggior parte degli studiosi la identifica con la via che dal Campo Marzio, presso l’attuale via del Tritone, saliva verso il Pincio lungo la direttrice di via Crispi e via di Porta Pin - ciana; la via, che costituiva anche la divisione tra due regioni augustee, la VI ad oriente e la VII ad occidente, si dirigeva poi verso i Monti Parioli ( fig. 1). Il nome antico del Pincio era collis Hortulorum; narra Svetonio che il Sepolcro dei Do - mizi nel quale venne sepolto Nerone, localizzato nella mappa di Roma Antica di Pirro Ligorio del 1553 e nella mappa di Onofrio Panvinio ( fig. 2) nei pressi di S. Maria del Popolo, si trovava …prospicitur Campo Martio impositum colli Hortulorum (Nero 50). Con il termine hortulus venivano solitamente definiti piccoli appezzamenti di terreno coltivato, mentre il Pincio, fin dall’età repubblicana, fu occupato da ville signorili che, come nota il Lanciani, "rivestivano tutta la costa del Pincio, dal piano del Campo Marzio sino quasi www.archeologia.beniculturali.it Reg. Tribunale Roma 05.08.2010 n.30 ISSN 2039 - 0076 237 PAOLA VIRGILI , La villa di Lucullo a Palazzo Mediobanca 1. CAR. TRATTI BASOLATI DELLA VIA SALARIA VETuS 2. ANTIquAE uRBIS IMAGO, INCISIONE ( O. P ANVINIO 1565, particolare) www.archeologia.beniculturali.it Reg. Tribunale Roma 05.08.2010 n.30 ISSN 2039 - 0076 238 BOLLETTINO DI ARCHEOLOGIA ON LINE VI, 2015/2-3-4 al viale maestro della passeggiata pubblica". 1 Il nome Pincio è attestato già in età tardo antica: la famiglia dei Pincii era proprietaria della domus Pinciana, villa signorile che occupava il versante occidentale della collina; la porta Pinciana, presso la quale era l’accampamento di Belisario, è citata più volte da Procopio nel bellum Gothicum (1.19. 14 e 16;1.23.3;1.28.15), la basilica di S. felice in Pincis è menzionata nell’itinerario di Einsielden del IX secolo. Il Mons Pinzi si trova citato in una bolla di Agapito II del 955 e in una bolla di Giovanni II del 962; in età medievale è detto anche Mons Girolus o Girola per il grande ninfeo curvilineo della Villa di Lucullo, all’epoca ben visibile. 2 LA MORfOLOGIA DEL PINCIO Il Pincio è una lunga uniforme dorsale composta da due terrazze sovrapposte; le pendici sul versante prospiciente il Campo Marzio, piuttosto ripide, furono compensate già in antico da una serie di terrazzamenti; il forte dislivello verso i Monti Parioli (viale del Muro Torto) fu invece compensato con la costruzione delle poderose sostruzioni degli horti Aciliorum di cui resta, a vista, il breve tratto, definito da Procopio ( bell. Goth . 1.23.4) murus ruptus (fig. 3). Le sostruzioni ( figg. 4-5) vennero poi ricomprese nel tracciato delle Mura Aureliane e rifasciate dal Valadier (1850-1865 ) con un muraglione moderno a nicchie ed arconi e con specchiature in finto reticolato in corrispondenza della struttura antica. Il forte dislivello verso il quirinale fu annullato alla fine dell’ottocento colmando la sella che divideva i due colli che oggi sembrano uniti, mentre in antico erano nettamente divisi. 3. MuRuS uRBIS, INTER PORTAM fLAMINIAM COLLATINAMquE SEjuNCTuS, SCISSuS, COLLAPSuM, INCI - SIONE DA ROMA AETERNA, SIVE IPSIuS AEDIfICIORuM ROMANORuM COLLAPSORIuMquE CONSPECTuS DuPLEX ( P. S CHENCk 1705) 1) CAMPESE SIMONE 1992, p.81-100, LANCIANI 1883, p.421, LuGLI 1938, p. 283. Secondo jOLIVET -B ROISE , LTUR IV, s.v. Pincius Mons, p. 90, con il termine hortuli si intendono identificare i piccoli giardini che circondavano i monumenti funerari edificati prima dell’ampliamento del pomerio effettuato da Claudio, sulle direttrici stradali antiche che circondavano il colle e sulla via Salaria Vetus , antica via ricalcata dalla moderna via di Porta Pinciana che tagliava il colle in senso longitudinale. 2) LTUR , loc.cit., cfr. MONETI 1993, pp. 5-24. www.archeologia.beniculturali.it Reg. Tribunale Roma 05.08.2010 n.30 ISSN 2039 - 0076 239 PAOLA VIRGILI , La villa di Lucullo a Palazzo Mediobanca 4. PROSPETTO DELLA PARTE DELLE MuRA DI ROMA CHE SERVONO DI SOSTEGNO ALLE TERRE DELLA PuB - BLICA PASSEGGIATA DEL PINCIO VERSO TRAMONTANA, DISEGNO ACquERELLATO (G. VALADIER 1828, ASR) LE ANTICHE RESIDENZE DEL PINCIO La collina è ancora oggi una delle zone più panoramiche e suggestive di Roma, e fu occupata, secondo quanto attestano le fonti, dalle ville e dai giar - dini monumentali più importanti della tarda repubblica. Il lato orientale della collina era oc - cupato dagli horti Sallustiani , realizzati da C. Sallustio Crispo, il celebre sto - rico, in terreni già di proprietà di Ce - sare; alla morte di Sallustio furono ereditati dal nipote e, sotto Tiberio, di - vennero proprietà del demanio impe - riale. Vennero utilizzati da Nerone e dalla famiglia flavia; di Adriano e di Alessandro Severo sono noti gli inter - venti edilizi; negli horti Sallustiani di - morarono, secondo le fonti, anche Aureliano e Diocleziano. 3 La grande residenza si articolava in una serie di strutture tra cui un edificio termale e vari nuclei residenziali e di rappresentanza inframmezzati da spazi verdi e giardini monumentali. 5. LE SOSTRuZIONI O DEGLI HORTI ACILIORuM VERSO LA VIA DELLE MuRA , fOTO RACCOLTA PARkER 1865-66 La residenza era adornata da pre - gevoli opere d’arte, quali il c.d. Trono Ludovisi, l’Acrolito Ludovisi, il Galata morente, il Galata che uccide la moglie e se stesso, e la Niobide, opere eccelse già nella Collezione Ludovisi ed ora esposte a Roma presso il Museo Nazionale Romano a Palazzo Altemps . 3) LuGLI 1938, p.291; LTUR III, p.86; LTUR III, pp.68-69. LTUR III; p.67. www.archeologia.beniculturali.it Reg. Tribunale Roma 05.08.2010 n.30 ISSN 2039 - 0076 240 BOLLETTINO DI ARCHEOLOGIA ON LINE VI, 2015/2-3-4 GLI HoRTI DI M. V ALERIuS MESSALLA CORVINuS una iscrizione locus in quo maceria est et maceria privata M.Messallai Corvini (CIL VI, 29789) rinvenuta nei giardini di Villa Medici localizza in tale area gli horti di M. Valerius Messalla Corvinus, l’oratore nato nel 64 a.C. che rivestì sotto Augusto la carica di curator aqua - rum . Se la villa di Messalla Corvinus era nell’area occupata dal giardino di villa Medici dove il cippo è stato rinvenuto, potremmo ad essa riferire le varie strutture in opera reticolata, ambienti pavimentati in coccio pesto e schegge di travertino e filari di mosaico nero, rinvenute a Villa Medici a N della terrazza del Bosco e una rete di cunicoli che si estendeva dal Muro Torto sino a Porta Pinciana. Se invece, come si è ipotizzato, Lucullo era proprietario di tutta la collina del Pincio ad occidente della via Salaria Vetus, allora gli horti di Messalla Corvinus sarebbero parte degli stessi horti Lucullani , ceduti, dopo la morte di Lucius, il figlio di Lucullus , nel 25 a.C. a Messalla Corvinus . GLI HoRTI Aciliorum All’epoca dell’amministrazione napoleonica di Roma il conte Tournon, Prefetto del Di - partimento del Tevere, elaborò, insieme con il Valadier ed altri insigni artisti, il progetto di tra - sformazione del Pincio ( fig . 6); i lavori cominciarono nel 1812 lungo viale Mickievicz; davanti alla Casina Valadier furono messi in luce consistenti resti della grande villa con pavimenti a mo - saico e opus sectile alle pareti e pregevoli opere in marmo tra cui un torso di Cupido e una testa colossale di Niobe. uno scavo presso la Casina Valadier ha rimesso nuovamente in luce parte delle strutture già viste negli sterri ottocenteschi ed in particolare una rampa con pavimentazione a mosaico 6. PLAN N.1 Du jARDIN Du GRAND CESAR , DISEGNO ACquERELLATO ( L.-M. BERTHAuLD 1813, GCS) www.archeologia.beniculturali.it Reg. Tribunale Roma 05.08.2010 n.30 ISSN 2039 - 0076 241 PAOLA VIRGILI , La villa di Lucullo a Palazzo Mediobanca ed eleganti decorazioni parietali ( figg . 7-8 ) ed inoltre, per intero, la grande cisterna formata da due ambienti disuguali e comunicanti. L’indagine, ampliata anche al di sotto dei pavimenti del primo piano della Casina, ha messo in luce i resti di un secondo livello superiore: sembra che la cisterna sia stata in una prima fase alimentata dall’acqua piovana raccolta da una fitta rete di cunicoli scavati nel tufo e con rivestimento di intonaco idraulico e solo in un secondo momento sia stata collegata con un acquedotto, presumibilmente il Marcio. 4 7. ROMA. CASINA VALADIER. RAMPA PAVIMENTATA 8. ROMA. CASINA VALADIER. LA DECORAZIONE PA - CON MOSAICO RIETALE Altre conserve di dimensioni minori furono viste dal Bartoli e dal Vacca a poca distanza dalla Casina ed in particolare, nel 1876 Lanciani rilevò una conserva d’acqua interamente scavata nel tufo che fu in parte distrutta nel 1881, con in adiacenza una fitta rete di gallerie intonacate incrociate ad angolo retto ( fig . 9).
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